The Girl Who Left
by Wandering shadow 19
Summary: Sherlock Holmes wasn't always alone. He wasn't always married to his work. In fact Sherlock Holmes was once a young man with a friend named Cassandra. this the story of how they met and how she left, which inevitably caused Sherlock to turn to a life of deductions and loneliness.I'm not sure if this could be considered an AU sorry i am not very good at summaries. SherlockXOC


** Warning: there is bullying, underage drinking, lots of swearing and lots more. there's a reason this is rated M.**

Cassandra O'Dell was sitting in her father Eric O'Dell's car on her way to her new house. She had no clue where she was going to live. Or what her new neighborhood would be like. She didn't even know what city she was moving to. But Cassandra did know one thing. It wouldn't last. Her father would come into her room in a year or two and tell her to pack her bags. That's what Eric always did he would tell her to pack and try not to complain too much. Cassandra had moved six times in her twelve years of life. She knew some kids had it worse and didn't complain too much but she was well aware that many kids got to grow up in one house a place they could always call home. Cassandra didn't have a real home she had a house that served as nothing more than a temporary place of residence.

"Welcome to Clemsford our new home." Eric said looking over at his daughter. Cassandra ignored him and glared out of the window. She didn't want to move to Clemsford she wanted to go back to Norwich. She spent four whole years there that was the longest she had ever stayed anywhere. "Cas you've got to talk to me some day." Eric told his daughter Cassandra rolled her eyes and turned to look at her father. "There isn't anything i'd like to say." Cassandra said coldly Eric sighed in frustration his daughter was troublesome almost all the time. She was a moody smart ass, not a good combination. "You always have something to say." Eric grumbled turning his attention back to the road. "Well you said i can't use swear words and you said not to use words you don't understand either." Cassandra snapped ready to engage in an argument with her father at any moment.

Cassandra and Eric argued all the time. They never saw eye to eye and had different views on everything. which resulted in lots of arguments. "stop that," Cassandra demanded looking at Eric accusingly. "Stop what Cas?" Eric sighed not seeing what his daughter was talking about. "You're lecturing me in your head if you have something to say, say it." Cassandra said she hated when her father held back what he wanted to say that's why his relationships never worked out. "what makes you think that?" Eric asked. "Every time we move you have a speech about how you want me to behave. but you like to wait until we get to the new house for that when we start fighting we can just go to our new rooms afterwards. but i know we are getting close to the house because you keep looking outside at the address printed on the houses. so you might as well start now Eric." Cassandra said tiredly. Eric muttered something under his breath about hated it when she acted like she knew everything.

"You are going to a new school i know it's the middle of the year and making friends isn't going to be easy. So i want you to behave and not be a know it all. Nobody likes a smart ass. Your pretty too pretty to be a geek. so don't try to be one of those nerdy rejects. I'm signing you up for some book club my girlfriends daughter is running, try to fit in. I think we might stay in Clemsford and i don't want to be known as the family with the little weird girl. Just try to be normal Cas get in trouble, make friends, date a boy or two." Eric preached, Cassandra was seething in anger. nerdy reject? Little weird girl? Too pretty to be a geek? "Being smart is what i am, that's normal for me. Just like conducting a project on psychological reactions to events or reading about what type chemical reactions cause which emotions is normal to me. i don't what to be like the other kids who will never be more than average!" Cassandra yelled it was reason like this that she and her father never got along. he always wanted to change her and make her into something she wasn't. Something she'll never be.

Eric was old-fashioned he believed that Cassandra needed to get people to like her. So that one day she could find a good man get married and raise a family in a house with white picket fences. But Cassandra didn't want that she wanted success and adventure. Cassandra didn't want to change to get others to like her. She just wanted to be herself. "damn it Cas i didn't ask if you wanted to i am telling you to. how do you expect to get through life without any friends. You can't always be alone!" Eric yelled slamming on the brakes of his car causing Cassandra to lurch forward. She slammed her door opened and got out. "Welcome home," Eric practically growled getting out of the car to unlock the door to their new house. "This isn't my home," Cassandra hissed stomping into her new house. She glared at the interior of the building. the movers had brought their stuff to the house a few weeks earlier. Cassandra's glare didn't lessen at the sight of her familiar items. things didn't make a place home the people in it did.

"I'm going out don't worry I'll try not to be to much of a freak while i'm out." Cassandra yelled not caring if her father heard her or not. Eric did hear Cassandra but he didn't stop her. He winced when he heard her slam the door on her way out. Eric didn't bother going after his daughter instead of thinking of a way to make amends with Cassandra, Eric rummaged through his boxes until he found his beer.

* * *

Meanwhile another outcast was dealing with his own problems. His name was Sherlock Holmes. He too knew what it was like to be different because he was smarter than the children. he couldn't stop being smart Sherlock even couldn't stop his deductions. Sherlock wasn't going to pretend to be anything less than what he was. which made him very unpopular with his peers. But still he pushed through day by day at his dreadful secondary school. School had just ended for Sherlock his day was dull. it was always the same thing. he would correct one of his teachers when they did something wrong or explained something in an idiotic way. Every day he would look a his peers and deduce who was cheating on who and such. That day in particular Sherlock had deduced that a boy Percy was cheating on his girlfriend. Percy happened to be one of the many boys who bullied Sherlock and he was not happy when his girlfriend broke up with him because of Sherlock.

On his way home Sherlock found heard several people following him. Sherlock groaned mentally knowing exactly who was following him. "Holmes you made my girlfriend break up with me!" A voice yelled Sherlock turned around to see Percy and a group of his thuggish friends approaching him. "I only stated the obvious." Sherlock stated arrogantly. "You're an arse Holmes." one of Percy's groupies said. Before Sherlock could make a witty reply back Percy's three friends ran to Sherlock and grabbed his arms. One boy who was easily the largest of the boys, gripped Sherlock's left arm and pulled behind his back. The other two boys did the same with Sherlock's right arm. Sherlock tried to squirm away and escape the bullies but it was no use their hold on him was too strong. the boys were all a two years older than Sherlock and were stronger than him.

Percy stepped forward and stopped right in front of Sherlock. "I'll make sure you keep your damn mouth shut Holmes." Percy screamed landing a punch on Sherlock's jaw. Percy continued to hit Sherlock mostly in his stomach. he laughed every time Sherlock showed he was in pain. the boys were so caught up they didn't notice a little twelve-year-old girl making her way towards them.

* * *

Cassandra had no clue where she was going she had walked out of her house and wandered off into the streets. She angrily kicked at whatever rubbish that laid in her path. Cassandra was muttering quietly to herself about how angry she was. She stopped when she saw a boy being beat up. She frowned at the unfair fight. The boy was being held back by three larger boys and one boy was punching him. Cassandra starting speeding up she was going to say something to the boys. "Hey what the hell do you thing your doing!" Cassandra yelled walking over to the bullies. all eyes were on Cassandra. Sherlock looked up at her through his already swollen eye. None of the boys let go of Sherlock but Percy did stop hitting Sherlock.

"You must be new around here or something but this is that git Sherlock. The freak deserves it." Percy explained but Cassandra didn't seem to agree. "Oh Shut up," Cassandra demanded she walked up closer to Percy. She glared at the boy who towered over her. "the only reason your him up is because you're taking out your anger on him. it's not his fault your dad's and alcoholic. so don't make up reason to take out your anger on him." Cassandra said matter of fact. All the boy's jaw dropped and Sherlock smirked a bit. "bloody hell there's another one!" Said one of the boys. "let's get out of here before the new freak starts showing off." The large guy said. the boys all stormed off leaving behind the two outcast. Sherlock stumbled over and fell Cassandra rushed to his side. "Are you ok?" She asked helping Sherlock get back on his feet.

"I'm fine," Sherlock muttered shying away from Cassandra. "Why were those boy's beating you up?" She asked the older boy curiously. Sherlock looked down at Cassandra like she was some odd specimen. She was odd, a little strange and very interesting. Sherlock wasn't used to anyone standing up for him. "He didn't like that i made a deduction and pointed out how obvious it was that he was cheating on his girlfriend." Sherlock said looking away from Cassandra's big green eyes. "how did you figure it out." Cassandra asked looking at Sherlock. "Well the boy Percy was wearing deodorant something he rarely does. Why would he suddenly care about his personal hygiene because he had someone to impress. it wasn't his girlfriend because he never tries to impress her. and today i passed by a girl who wore the same deodorant as Percy. what girl wears deodorant meant for men the ones who don't have theirs with them. and by the sat of her knees i could tell" Sherlock stopped short of his explanation he remembered that the girl was younger than him and he doubted she would understand. "Wow that's amazing you could tell that Percy was sleeping with another girl by his deodorant." Cassandra smiled at Sherlock who was taken aback he had never had someone be impressed by his deduction (except his mum). But Cassandra just looked at him like Sherlock was the smartest person in the world.

"How did you even know Percy's dad was an alcoholic?' Sherlock found himself asking Cassandra. "well one of the main reason people bully others is because of family issues. so statistically speaking it more plausible that Percy is having family issues. when i got closer to him i could smell the alcohol and cologne on him but he showed no signs of drinking and he didn't seem to care much about personal hygiene by the state of his hair. so it couldn't have been his cologne. So his father must be drinking." Cassandra explained Sherlock's eyes widened slightly. he had never found someone like him other than Mycroft. Cassandra looked at the psychological state of bullies and went from there to analyze them. "finally someone who isn't dull has moved here." Sherlock said unsure of what to say. He wasn't sure if that counted as a compliment but by the look on her face Sherlock could tell he hadn't offended her which was good.

Cassandra studied Sherlock trying to analyze him but all she could see was his black eye and the cut on his cheek. She could only imagine the state of his torso Percy had punched him pretty hard. "We should really get you cleaned up." Cassandra said Sherlock tensed up. he noticed that Cassandra had said we which suggested the both of them being together for even longer."I can take care of myself this isn't the first time." Sherlock said coldly trying to get away from Cassandra. "I just stopped the bullies from beating the crap out of you. you owe me." Cassandra said placing her hands on her hip. "You use a lot of swear words for a little girl." Sherlock stated Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I'm not little your just old." Cassandra teased glaring at Sherlock playfully. Sherlock was taken aback he hadn't met anyone like Cassandra. "Fine let's just get this blood off my face." Sherlock sighed giving into the stubborn girl.

"I'm Cassie O'Dell by the way what's your name?" Cassandra asked looking up at Sherlock as she dragged him away from the spot where he had just been beaten up. "I'm Sherlock Holmes." Sherlock said Cassandra repeated his name quietly to herself as if she was testing the sound of his name. "Your names a little odd but it works for you. Sherlock Holmes i like it." Cassandra said smiling slightly to herself. She had the feeling that Sherlock Holmes would be a good friend and maybe one day he could be her best friend. Which shouldn't be too difficult seeing that he had no competition.

they had wandered aimlessly for a while when a little old woman hobbled out of her house. 'You two come here right now." The woman demanded pointing at Sherlock and Cassandra. Cassandra and Sherlock walked to the old woman unsure of why she was calling them. "What did you do young man?" The woman demanded looking at Sherlock's face. "It's not his fault ma'am a couple of bigger kids beat him up." Cassandra said stepping in she could tell the woman was making Sherlock uncomfortable. "And how did you come across this young lady." The woman asked ushering the the children into her house. "I was walking by and i saw them so i told them to stop." Cassandra said the old woman's eyes softened. "Come along you two let's get you cleaned up." She said directing the last part to Sherlock.

* * *

The trio sat together as the old woman, Mrs. Nelsen cleaned up Sherlock while Cassandra told her what happened. "How old are you two you look much to young to be wandering around by yourselves?" Mrs. Nelson asked. "I'm Fourteen that's old enough to walk home from school." Sherlock informed her stiffly the woman still made him uncomfortable he wasn't sure how to handle her kindness. "I'm twelve i just moved here with my dad and i wanted to see what my new neighborhood was like." Cassandra partially lied. She didn't meet Sherlock's eyes she knew he would be able to tell she was fabricating the truth.

"Cassie you shouldn't wander around by yourself those boys were four years older than you and i imagine they were bigger than you too. what you do if they tried to beat you up?" Mrs. Nelsen scolded Cassandra dropped her head avoiding her eyes as well. "but you did the right thing helping by Sherlock." Mrs. Nelsen smiled patting Cassandra's back fondly. Mrs. Nelson turned and looked at Sherlock. "young man i expect you to take care of Cassie do you understand. you both seem like the type to keep to yourselves that's a very lonely life to live. but if you two stick together. you two take care of each other alright." Mrs. Nelsen said Cassandra's green eyes met Mrs. Nelson's tiredly brown ones.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Cassandra stated looking at the woman she saw sadness flash through her eyes but it was quickly masked. "That's because i am." She sad Sherlock didn't know what it was about Mrs. Nelsen but he wanted to listen to her. He was alone quite often and he thought that maybe Cassandra could be a friend one day. After all Cassandra did stop Sherlock from getting beat up. "It's getting late you children better get home do you need a ride?" Mrs Nelsen asked kindly. the children didn't have time to answer before there was a knock at the door. Mrs. Nelsen opened the door and a man stepped in. He had black and an air of arrogance around him. "I'm here to pick up Sherlock." The man said Sherlock turned to look at the man. Cassandra was sure that if looks could kill the man would be dead. "Mycroft," Sherlock said coldly still glaring at the man.

"Sherlock you gave mummy a fright when you didn't get home on time." Mycroft said walking over to Sherlock. Cassandra's eyes widened it had clicked she realized that Sherlock and Mycroft were brothers. "who are you?"Mycroft asked looking at Cassandra disdainfully. "Leave her alone Mycroft," Sherlock snapped at his brother. Cassandra paid no mind to the elder Holmes. "Sherlock can we meet up some time soon?" Cassandra asked sweetly slightly smirking when she saw the look on Mycroft's face. Mrs. Nelsen chuckled lightly knowing that her words of wisdom had gotten to the children. "I don't see why not," Sherlock smirked happy to see his brothers confused look. "Why don't you two give each other your addresses," Mrs. Nelson suggested handing each child a pen and paper. Sherlock and Cassandra scribbled down their addresses and traded papers.

"It' was nice meeting you Mrs. Nelsen but i should get home now." Cassandra excused herself and walked began walking out. "Bye Sherlock I'll see you soon." Cassandra said before walking out. Mrs. Nelsen turned to Sherlock. "You remember what i said to you and don't be a stranger Sherlock." She said Sherlock nodded and followed his brother outside. They both got into the car and Mycroft looked at his brother. "Who was that girl?" Mycroft demanded Sherlock sighed his brother always wanted to know everything. "It's none of your business Mycroft." Sherlock said coldly as if daring his brother to do something. "I can't make any deductions from her." Mycroft stated thinking back to the girl he could read. "Neither can i," Sherlock admitted that was one of the things that made Cassandra interesting to him. He could make any deductions about her. Sherlock looked at Cassandra and saw nothing of significance. He just saw green eyes that shined with intelligence.

* * *

Cassandra found her way back home and was greeted by a disgusting sight. Her father was sprawled out on the couch drunk. His hair was a rat's nest and his clothes were soiled in vomit. "where the hell were you?" Eric demanded. "I was out didn't you hear me earlier." Cassandra rolled her eyes and started picking up the mess her father made. "Did you make any friends." Eric yelled unaware of how loud he was. "Yes," Cassandra replied gathering up the trash around her father she didn't dare touch his beer bottles. "It's about time hope you didn't just pick up the first fucking weirdo you could find." Eric laughed slapping his knee or attempting to at least. "I'll make friends with whoever the hell i want Eric." Cassandra yelled shooting her father a dirty look.

Eric's demeanor changed from carefree to angry. "You will do whatever the hell i say Abby!" Eric screamed accidentally calling Cassandra by her mothers name. "Maybe if you would had listen to me you wouldn't have had Cas you slut." Eric screamed, Cassandra nearly fell over a box of beer when he had said that. He mom had left to live in America six years ago. Eric had talked about her mother when he was drunk often. But he never called her Abby. And more importantly he never said anything about regretting Cassandra ever. They yelled and fought all the time but they got over it. Eric had said a lot of hurtful things to Cassandra but nothing had hurt her like what he had just said. "You really are an arse Eric." Cassandra sighed pulling out a few beers from her dad's box and taking it to her room. It wasn't the first time Cassandra had drank and it sure wasn't going to be the last. She remembered when she started drinking it was her eleventh birthday. her dad wasn't around and she got curious she wanted to know what was so great about beer.

She got liked the buzz she got when she drank. it distracted her for a while. sometimes she would only drink to get buzzed but at the moment she was drinking to get drunk. Cassandra sometimes wondered if her dad knew or if he even cared. She stumbled to her new room clutching her beer bottles in her hand. Cassandra collapsed on the ground and started wiping away her tears. She hated relying on alcohol to distract her. She knew she shouldn't drown her problems in beer but at the moment it seemed a hell of a lot better than facing them.

* * *

Sherlock had stayed up all night thinking of Cassandra. "Cassie," Sherlock said testing out her name again. He didn't like nicknames he wanted to know her real name. "O'Dell," Sherlock said he didn't like her last name either it didn't fit her. Cassandra was to extraordinary for a boring name like O'Dell. She was odd and he liked that. Sherlock couldn't read her which shocked him. he could look at any other person and read them like a book. he could know their secrets the ones they tried to hide from everyone else. But Cassandra was different she was a mystery to him. Sherlock thought back to what she had said about smelling alcohol and cologne on Percy. He could faintly smell alcohol and cologne on Cassandra.

Sherlock looked at the paper Cassandra had written her address on. He was determined to find out tomorrow if her father was an alcoholic. For some reason that Sherlock didn't understand he had taken Mrs. Nelsen's words to heart. he wanted to take care of Cassandra she did stop Percy and his cronies from beating him up. Sherlock did owe her. He couldn't get the imagine of Cassandra out of his head. She was small for her age and but she still stood up to four older boys to help him. Sherlock knew he wouldn't be able to delete Cassandra from his mind not her voice or her green eyes not even her wild light brown hair. he would always remember the little girl who saved him and Sherlock was determined to return the favor.

* * *

** this one was really difficult to write i don't want to portray Sherlock as the cold and calculating detective yet. Because now he's only fourteen and i think at that age he would be a little sweet sometimes and extremely awkward. I'll show Sherlock as the outcast who get's picked on and the boy who's learning what a friend is. It's also very difficult writing for Cassie she's damaged but of course no one can see that. Her drinking problem isn't going to be the main thing but it will play a part in the story. Get ready for a lot of hurt and even more comfort people. If this goes well i am planning on writing another Sherlock fic with Cassie but it will go along with the show Sherlock on the BCC. I'm really excited for this story and i hope you guys like it!**

** -A.J. **

**Cassandra and Eric's song is without you by Hinder.**


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